Pastor’s wife kicked off plane

Apparently, no one will give details about what exactly happened, but the Associated Press reports the following item.

HOUSTON – The wife of the pastor of the nation’s largest church was asked to leave a plane after she failed to comply with a flight attendant’s instructions, the FBI said Tuesday. Houston Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, his wife, Victoria, and their two children boarded a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Vail, Colo., Monday. The plane’s door had been closed when Victoria Osteen and a flight attendant had a disagreement.

“She failed to comply with the flight attendant’s instructions, and they were asked to leave the flight,” FBI spokeswoman Luz Garcia said without elaborating on the disagreement.

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The flight was delayed more than an hour while the Osteens’ luggage was retrieved, Garcia said. The family took another flight to Colorado, where church spokesman Don Iloff said they were skiing Tuesday.

According to passenger accounts, the Osteens were sitting in first class. Soon after the plane’s door was closed, the FBI says Victoria Osteen was removed following what Continental would call only a disturbance. The Osteens’ spokesman confirms it involved a flight attendant, but that’s all. However, one passenger tells Eyewitness News she was alerted to the front of the plane when she heard a commotion.

“She violently ran towards the cockpit, scaring everyone around her,” said passenger Knicky Van Slyke. “Everyone was terrified about what was going on. And a bunch of flight attendants ran up and had to restrain her. She was banging on the door.”

The Osteens’ spokesman denies a physical altercation, denies Victoria ever banged on the cockpit door, and says she left on her own.

“The account of the event which has come to our attention is inaccurate and overblown. The misunderstanding was minor and was resolved when Victoria voluntarily removed herself from the situation,” read the statement.

The FBI says it was not voluntary. Though agents are not investigating, they will review the incident as the Osteens enjoy their Colorado vacation.